CUCURBIT n pl. -S a gourd 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Halloween is just around the corner, and by now most of you have already picked up a CUCURBIT to gut and carve scary faces into. Yes, that jack-o-lantern decorating your doorstep for all of the trick-or-treate ...more
BANSHIE n pl. -S banshee 62 points (12 points without the bingo) The BANSHIE (or BANSHEE) is a female spirit from Gaelic folklore that wails unbearably loud as PRESAGE for someone's imminent death. Irish legend states her as being a fairy woman and messenger of death from th ...more
GRAMARYE n pl. -S occult learning; magic 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Simply put, GRAMARYE is MAGIC, SORCERY, and in some cases, NECROMANCY. But overall, there is very little distinction between the terms. Magic is best described as an OCCULT art that can manipula ...more
GUISARD n pl. -S a masker 59 points (9 points without the bingo) This is a pretty simple word to explain. Since the definition states guisard being a masker, then it's easy to tell where this word comes from—guise, which means to disguise, or more specifically to alter the a ...more
ZEPHYRS n sing. ZEPHYR gentle breezes 74 points (24 points without the bingo) A few days ago, Cerek Tunca mentioned that a great seven-letter bingo word would be ZEPHYRS, because of the amount of points gained. He's definitely right, with it being more than 20 points by its ...more
REAPHOOK n pl. -S an implement used in reaping 67 points (17 points without the bingo) After guisard was featured a couple days ago, it seems right to keep throwing in a few Halloween related Bingo of the Days. I doubt it will be one everyday, but just a few here and there t ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: * FINNESKO [n/pl.] A finnesko is a boot made of tanned reindeer skin, with the reindeer's fur on the outside. It's an especially good, warm boot for subarctic regions. These boots originate from the Sami, indigenous people from the cultural region o ...more
DOTTREL 58 points (8 points without the bingo) Definition: dotterel; a shore bird [n] If you're familiar with the dotterel bird, you may think dottrel is a misspelling, but it's just another way of putting it. Hopefully, your opponent will think it's a misspelling, too. A d ...more
WICKIUP 68 points (18 points without the bingo) Definition: an American Indian hut [n] It's shaped like an igloo, but wickiups aren't made of snow and ice, there made of arched wooden poles and some sort of roofing material, such as grass, brush, reeds, or cloth—basically, w ...more
VERONICA n pl. -S a handkerchief bearing the image of Christ's face 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Veronica was the name given to the cloth veil that was supposedly impressed with an image of Jesus's face. The veil was given to Christ by Saint Veronica of Jerusalem ...more
HOOSGOW 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Definition: a jail [n] Actually, it's slang for jail. You may not believe that slang is allowed on the Scrabble board, but it most definitely is when the word in question is used by a good majority of the people out there. Mer ...more
ALAMEDA 60 points (10 points without the bingo) Definition: a shaded walkway [n] For those on the west coast, alameda is not just a city in the Harbor Bay or a street in downtown Los Angeles, it's also a legitimate Scrabble word meaning a shady walkway. It's actually a Spani ...more
WANIGAN 61 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: a supply chest used in a logging camp [n] The most common definition of wanigan (or wannigan) is a small chest which holds supplies for lumberjacks. Some will just call it a lumberjack's trunk, but if you want to ta ...more
ZUGZWANG n pl. -S a situation in chess that forces a disadvantageous move 81 points (31 points without the bingo) You may not ever get a chance to play zugzwang on the Scrabble board, since it requires two G tiles and two Z tiles (obviously one Z being a blank), but you've p ...more
EURYOKY 67 points (17 points without the bingo) Definition: the ability of an organism to live under variable conditions [n] To be more specific, the term euryoky (or euroky) is applied to species with relatively broad ranges of tolerance to a number of environmental factors ...more
APOLOGUE n pl. -S an allegory 61 points (11 points without the bingo) An apologue (or apolog) is an allegorical short story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning or principle, typically a moral or political one. It's very similar to a fable, bu ...more
POSTICHE 65 points (15 points without the bingo) Definition: an imitation [n] Not to be confused with pastiche, postiche simply means an imitation—a counterfeit of something. It could be anything, but most commonly it's referred to as false hair on the face or head, which in ...more
MBAQANGA 72 points (22 points without the bingo) Definition: a South African dance music [n] Back in the late 1950s, old strains of the popular South African indigenous music called marabi, which consisted of careening piano players and improvisational singers steeped in tra ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: TRAVOISE [n] Today's word is in honor of Joel Sherman, whose record-breaking game last weekend netted him seven bingo plays, one of which was TRAVOISE. A travoise is a type of sled, but no… it's not like a toboggan or snow sleigh. Though it can be, ...more
FOVEOLET n pl. -S a foveola 64 points (14 points without the bingo) So, if a foveolet is a foveola, what's a foveola? It's a small fovea. Okay… what's a fovea? It's a shallow anatomical depression, which is basically a small pit or cuplike indentation in a bone or bodily org ...more
Spend an hour with Oracle PL/SQL expert Steven Feuerstein and explore the code-testing challenges facing PL/SQL developers. He will demonstrate how the new Quest Code Tester for Oracle dramatically simplifies testing because it:
COXSWAIN v -ED, -ING, -S to direct (a crew) as coxwain 70 points (20 points without the bingo) The definition for coxswain could be pretty confusing if you don't know what a coxwain is, but perhaps even more confusing is the fact that coxwain is not an acceptable word in Scr ...more
CYNOSURE 63 points (13 points without the bingo) Definition: a center of attraction [n] A cynosure is something or someone that strongly attracts attention and admiration from others by its allure, brilliance, and interest, and usually is associated with lustrousness and att ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: GRUYERE [n] One of the most famous types of cheeses made in Switzerland, made from the milk of a cow. It's a hard yellow cheese named from its town of origin, Gruyère. The cheese can be spelled with or without the grave accent (`) on the è, though i ...more
RHYOLITE 64 points (14 points without the bingo) Definition: a volcanic rock [n] Rhyolite is an igneous rock, which is one of the three main rock types, aside from sedimentary and metamorphic rock. It's also an extrusive volcanic rock, which is formed on the surface through ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: LUMINARIA [n] A votive candle set into a small, decorative paper bag weighted down with sand and placed in a row with others along a walkway, driveway, or rooftop as a holiday decoration. They are most popular in New Mexico and in neighboring southw ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: DHOURRA [n] Dhourra is a type of sorghum, a genus of cereal grasses cultivated in warm climates worldwide for its edible grain. Sorghum originated in North Africa, but is a favorite crop in countries where arid soil exists and frequent droughts occu ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: CABRESTA [n/pl.] A cabresta (also cabestro or cabresto) is simply a lasso, a rope formed with a running noose that's used on ranches and Western plains for catching horse and cattle. Cabresta comes from the Spanish word halter, which refers to the h ...more
TINTYPE 62 points (12 points without the bingo) Definition: a kind of photograph [n] Tintypes are a type of photograph that you would find in antique shops, estate sales, and maybe even in your attic. Despite its name, these old time ferrotype photos weren't actually made of ...more
BOVINITY 66 points (16 points without the bingo) Definition: the state of being a bovine [n] At first glance, the definition for bovinity seems a bit too obvious… the state of being an ox-like animal. But outside the world of cattle, it's meant more as a disparaging remark t ...more
YANQUIS 68 points (18 points without the bingo) Definition: United States citizens [n/pl.] By the way it's spelled, you might not even realize it's the exact same thing as Yankees, only with a QUI instead of a KEE. But wait… Yankees isn't a legitimate Scrabble word, so why i ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: NOSEGAY [n] A nosegay is simply a bouquet of flowers, typically given as gifts. It comes from Middle English, from the words nose and gay, which in this case means brightly colored and showy. It does not reference homosexuality; the modern sense of ...more
EUCAINE n pl. -S an anesthetic 59 points (9 points without the bingo) The first effective local anesthetic ever was cocaine, obtained from the leaves of the coca plant, and it's still legal for medical use. But cocaine tends to cause intense vasoconstrictor activity and some ...more
Cock-er-fly. Noun (pl. -flies) Definition: a member of the insect family borne of taxidermy mutation; can be best described as a cross between a cockroach and a butterfly. Learn how to make-one-yourself here. Previously, Stomach Churning Taxidermy Fashion.
If you look up the word SAWBUCK in the SCRABBLE Dictionary, you'd see that it was a sawhorse, but there's another definition that we're all probably more familiar with: SAWBUCK n pl. -S a $10 bill (informal) So, 8,000 sawbucks equals $80,000, and that's exactly what Sonya Gl ...more
REREMICE 62 points (12 points without the bingo) Definition: bats (flying mammals) [n/pl.] But these aren't just ordinary flying bats. Reremice (or rearmice) are known more commonly as particolored bats, which is a medium-sized species in the family of Vesper bats. It's bino ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: HELLEBORE [n] A hellebore is any of the approximately 20 plants from the genus Helleborus, many of which are poisonous. Hellebores are herbaceous perennial flowering plants from Eurasia related to the buttercup family, having showy flowers with peta ...more
MACHZOR 73 points (23 points without the bingo) Definition: mahzor; a Jewish prayer book [n] If you ever get stuck with a rack like ZORCHAM, you might be prompted to lay something down like CHAM or CHROMA, which could both get you some pretty big points, but knowing this muc ...more
FRONDEUR 62 points (12 points without the bingo) Definition: a rebel [n] Actually, frondeur is a word associated with the Fronde, a French civil war from around 1648 to 1660, amidst both the Franco-Spanish War and Thirty Years' War. The word "fronde" literally means sling in ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: * CAGANER [n] A caganer is a small figurine of a person defecating in place, pants humorously around the character's ankles. It's a traditional Christmas decoration in Catalonia, Spain and in neighboring areas, where it's placed within the nativity ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: MIASMIC [adj] Miasmic is an adjective for miasm (or miasma), which means a noxious vapor—"bad air" harmful to health. The word miasma comes from the ancient Greek word for pollution. And the concept of bad air also gave rise to the name malaria, fro ...more
Scrabble Bingo of the Day: DAUBERY [n] An unskillful painting or work, one that is executed in a messy or inexpert way. Since art is highly subjective, I won't point out any dauberies. You probably already have a few in mind. DAUBERY [n/pl.] -ERIES a bad or inexpert painting ...more
SHLEMIEL 63 points (11 points without the bingo) Definition: an unlucky bungler [n] Shlemiel is a Yiddish word that describes a clumsy, inept person by Jewish persons. The Yiddish language is a mix of German, Hebrew and Slavic languages, and was very common amongst Jews in c ...more
OOPHYTE 65 points (15 points without the bingo) Definition: a stage of development in certain plants [n] More specifically, in botany, the gametophyte in mosses, liverworts, and ferns, resulting from the development of a fertilized egg. The word comes from its grand division ...more
What is Programming? Why need to learn? How to get started? Which language to choose? While surfing web, you must be encountering various softwares, games, etc. and might be thinking to make one, but don't know where to start. Here, I am starting series in Programming. So, w ...more